Summer’s Pause

The bittersweet last days of August are playing themselves out. The weather hints of autumn. The calendar is jammed. Lots of summer left. But as Shakespeare says we all know the dates. Labor Day is September first. In year’s past I would race around trying to capture as many summer images as possible. Lots of assignments before the Labor Day deadline. Racing through too many Augusts I now see the error of my ways. You can’t beat the traffic, crowds or shorter length of days. Best to slow down and see what shows up in front of the lens. Park the car, walk around and wait.

Such was the case of the Scargo Lake photo. I saw the empty dock and nice sunlight on the lake. A quiet image as the old photo editor would say. As I was looking at the forest through the trees, a trio of sailboats moves across the frame. A gift from the photo gods. Had I been driving by, I might have seen the photo. A U-turn on Route 6A in summer traffic and a quick parking job would have found the scene gone.

There is a time and place for run and gun photojournalism. Often there is no choice. Make the best photo possible and head to the next assignment. The last days of August call for a longer view. Force yourself to slow down. Soak up the sun and shadows. Plenty of time to work fast when the colder temperatures start to quicken our step.

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